


The Grey Space

by orphan_account



Category: Original Work
Genre: "Poison" Apples, Anger isuues, Attempted Murder, Betrayal, Crime, Deeper Meanings, For English, Galla is a play on the name of a forgotten constellation, How cool is that, I like it though, Implied Kidnapping, Implied mental illness, Murder, Other, Short Story, cover ups, fluctuating between fantasy and reality, fragmentation, honestly she's just broken
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-18 03:08:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10608039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Galla ran. The Beast was racing towards her and there was nowhere to hide. In that moment, she felt truly alone. She had never been so far from home; never dreamed that she could drift so far...*read the tags





	

Galla ran. The Beast was racing towards her and there was nowhere to hide. Her breath came in short pants as she sprinted through the trees, dodging rocks and roots along the way. She emerged from the thick forest to see the midday sun sitting high in the sky, its warm glow lighting up a large break in the trees. As she approached the clearing, Galla noticed a felled tree off to the right. It was fairly large, and hidden almost completely by thick brambles.   
Thinking quickly, she crawled inside. The Beast was far too quick for her to outrun, maybe by hiding here she had a fighting chance. The tree was rotten and hollow; its form covered from base to height in moss and lichens. Laying horizontally on the ground the bottom had completely rotted away. A single purple clover grew just in front of her nose.  
“So this is it… The end of my story… What a fine mess I’ve gotten myself into.” Galla breathed. In that moment, she felt truly alone. She had never been so far from home; never dreamed that she could drift so far from… Where was home, anyway? She closed her eyes, and in her mind’s eye a castle rose into being. She frowned, and shook her head. Home was not grand. The castle flickered, similar to an image created by a broken projector, then morphed. A new building came into view. It was a quaint lilac-covered cottage just outside of Westerburg. ‘Yes,’ Galla thought. ‘That is home.’   
Galla was startled from her reverie when a branch snapped a fair distance off into the trees. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized that she could never return home. The Beast had claimed that place as its hunting ground, and there was no way to persuade it to leave. Someone had tried, once. Galla remembered her honey-blonde hair and kind smile. A smile that changed when the Beast arrived, froze on her face like the surface of an iced-over pond in the winter . She never stood a chance against its gleaming silver claws. Galla shuddered, remembering the night the Beast had destroyed its would-be slayer.  
* * * * * * * * * * * * *  
Flannel shirts. Smiles.  
“What a delicious meal you have made for us, darling! I could smell the roast from outside.”  
And then, later… The screams...  
“Lance, What are you doing?”  
“Lance? Put the knife down...”  
“STOP! What are you doing? Please don’t do this!”  
Silence. The scraping of feet dragging something heavy across the carpet. 

The thunk of a shovel in the dirt, Galla watching from the window as the deeply displaced earth created a pile on its surface near hole’s opening.  
The crazed, darting eyes of the Beast looking up, its claws dripping blood. The sinister smile that spread across his… No. Its face.   
Galla, bolting through the back door and running into the forest.  
* * * * * * * * * * * * *

That night something had broken inside of her. Galla could tell by looking at the too-bright colours and the way things changed. Everything looked like it was from a fairytale, rather than a modern town. In a way, she supposed it helped. It was like she was a part of a story, and any moment now she would wake up from this nightmare. But she knew deep down that she would never wake up. She was trapped in this horrific vision filled with bloody smiles, claws, pain, death, and-  
“I can't think of it now.” Galla said firmly, pulling herself out of her panic. Now was not the time to get lost in the past. She shifted in the trunk to prevent her feet from falling asleep. In doing so, she moved some leaves from their original place on the forest floor. A glint of silver flashed up from the place she had just been. She brushed away the rest of the leaves to reveal an ornate knife. The handle was thick and heavy, the blade covered in some sort of ancient text. The knife seemed more fit to use in some sort of ceremony, but would suffice for for her needs. If this was her last stand then damn it, she was not going to waste it. The wretched creature was going to die with her.  
It turned out to be an extremely lucky find, as moments later the Beast appeared in the clearing. Its fur was stained with blood and its claws were coated in the stuff. It drew closer and began to circle the trunk. Galla knew that in order to fight she had to leave her haven. With the knowledge that this was her last chance of survival fueling her, she crawled from the trunk and jumped up, striking the beast with all her strength. The blow landed and The Beast staggered back, hands- no, paws- clutched to its chest. It struck out at Galla in rage, and her body fell to the ground with a crunch.   
She clutched her chest, feet scrabbling for purchase in the damp soil beneath her. Her flailing legs hooked around the Beast’s ankles and he toppled down on top of her. Gathering the last of her strength, Galla rolled away from the Beast, kicking him. The wretched thing gave a mighty howl and then winced. Staggering to its feet, it wandered toward its home, growling into its paw until it faded from view.  
Galla lay still, staring at the sky. The Beast had left, probably thinking she was close enough to death that he need not finish her off. Her chest blazed with agonizing pain, and she knew that she would soon join the first victim. A snapping root off to the left brought her attention back to the world around her. It seemed as though quite a bit of time time had passed, as the sun now sat low on the horizon.   
A tall man emerged from the woods, glancing frantically around as if he was afraid of being followed. He wore a tattered tunic- no. He was wearing a pair of deep blue denims and had tattered sneakers on his feet. An old band t-shirt was covered by a well-worn sweatshirt adorned his muscular torso. His hair was mahogany colored and appeared windswept. He may have looked lost, but he was her only hope. Drawing strength from some hidden place deep within her, she called out to him. “Sir… Please…” His head snapped up and, seeing her, he ran over.   
“Oh lord, what are you doing here? And what happened to you?!” He asked, while pulling a small box out of his pocket. It was a first-aid kit. He knelt beside her and began to tend to her wounds. He pulled a cotton ball from the box and gently dabbed at the scratched skin of her palms. Galla hissed as the bubbling disinfectant made contact with her wounds. She should be running. Who knew when the Beast would return with the rest of his pack. Here she was, lying in the woods, letting a stranger heal her when the monster could return any moment.   
“You should run, the monster will return any second” Galla warned frantically.   
“Don’t worry about me.” He said. “It won’t come unless its called.”   
“What do you mean? Called? … Listen, you’ve gotta get out of here. You have NO CLUE what he’s capable of.” Galla cried.   
“Don’t worry, just let me heal you. Don’t think about this… ‘Beast’.” He said, looking mildly amused.   
‘He thinks I’m crazy…’ Galla realized. ‘He’s humoring me. He’d never understand. I’ll take the help he’ll give and then get out of here.’  
When he was done, the man pulled a bright green apple from his sweatshirt pocket as he draped it over Galla’s shoulders. Then, offering her the apple, he continued. “Here, eat. You look like you could use it.”   
Galla knew that this may be her last chance to get food before she had to run, so she gladly took the chance to gain some sustenance. Her hands were trembling with leftover adrenaline, and so she used both to grasp the crisp fruit. Slowly bring it to her lips she took a bite, teeth easily breaking the thin skin. However, as soon as the sharp juice touched her tongue, her eyes began to droop. Before her eyes, The man’s teeth elongated and his pupils became slit like a cat’s. He threw back his head and howled at the moon. As her eyes slid closed, Galla thought of the poor lady who The Beast destroyed and wondered if she would be condemned to the same fate, for evil has no limit when it comes to form. In the darkness, she felt arms picking her up before she faded into oblivion.

**Author's Note:**

> Galla Naos Prodotis : play on Gallus, the cockerel constellation that was forgotten by time and people. I think, if one were to puzzle it out, it would add mystery to the story and wrap it up. She will be forgotten by all, like this constellation. Naos, meaning ship, will represent deliverance which she may hope to receive. Prodotis, meaning betrayer, represent her betrayal of her father, as well as the ways she has been betrayed.


End file.
